Tipton seeking 'auto-related' plant; could be more than $500 million investment

TIPTON - The Tipton County Planning Commission will consider at 7 p.m. today a request to rezone 188 acres that could bring 1,200 manufacturing jobs to the county.

The Plan Commission meeting will take place in the first floor meeting room of the Tipton County Courthouse. The only item on the agenda is the Tipton County Economic Development Corp.'s request to rezone the acreage from residential/agriculture to industrial use.

The site is located on the northeast corner of U.S. 31 and Ind. 28.

Speculation has swirled for months that DaimlerChrysler and Getrag, a German manufacturing company, have been looking for a potential site in central Indiana to construct a new transmission assembly plant. Locations include Kokomo, Tipton County, Frankfort and Lafayette.

Bill Keir, director of Tipton County EDC, said Thursday the Tipton County Economic Development Foundation Inc. has taken options with several owners to purchase the 188 acre site.

"I will tell the Plan Commission that it is for a proposed investment of between $500 [million] and $600 million and create 1,200 new jobs," Keir said. "It is automotive-industry related manufacturing."

Keir said the prospective company does not want its name released to the public at this time.

Currently there are no utilities servicing the location, he said.

"The city of Tipton will run water, sewer and electricity to the site," Keir said. "That has already been discussed with the city."

Keir said if the rezoning is approved and the project moves forward, the city of Tipton and Tipton County will create a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District to issue bonds to run the needed utility service to the location.

A TIF district captures the property taxes on any improvement to a location. Taxing units continue to receive the revenues generated through taxes that were available before any improvements are made.

"If the rezoning is approved, the formal site analysis will take place, starting next week," Keir said. "They are on a fairly tight construction schedule. The state has been involved and is working with the prospective company directly."

Keir said the prospective company has looked at several locations.

"This is a serious inquiry," he said. "I expect they have one or two backup sites if the rezoning is not approved."